The good guys picked a up a big time commitment tonight when 2016 Four Star safety Jaquelle Green pledged to take his talents to Floyd Street.  The talented prospect from D'lberville, Mississippi is the 20th commitment for Petrino& Co. in the 2016 class, and his addition takes the Cardinals' up to #17 in the team rankings for at least one national site.  Green held offers from Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia, and LSU. 

Green will look to follow in the footsteps of a recent slew of talented safeties like Calvin Pryor (NY Jets) and James Sample (Jacksonville Jaguars) who made their mark at Louisville before heading off to the NFL.  Not a bad little way to wrap up your Thursday night, eh? 

I don't speak EMOJI, but if my translation is correct this says: "Number 8 back on top, blessed for another shot." Or something like that. I don't really know what the little alien head means. 

This would be the second time in a week Lamar Jackson, or his account, has kicked up some dust on Twitter.  During the Clemson game, like during the actual game, the young man's account re-tweeted several people saying he should be starting. 

Lamar quickly deleted the re-tweets and said his account was "hacked."  I really don't care if the account was hacked or not. Jackson is young, and he'll learn how to conduct himself as the face of a program.  I'm of the opinion that Jackson should be the starter going forward. Now, at least until Saturday, we're left to wonder whether or not the popular translation of Jackson's cryptic message is  accurate, or if his account was "hacked" again. 

No disrespect to the mighty Samford Bulldogs, but in light of the opponent this week I will not be previewing, breaking down, or analyzing what we may see from them on Saturday afternoon.  I know-I know, I just disrespected the hell out of Samford, but let’s be honest, if Louisville doesn’t dominate this game there are much bigger issues than any of us could’ve possibly imagined. So, in lieu of a game preview I’m going to analyze our outlook for the rest of the year. 

We are currently 0-3, and to put it lightly, that sucks. Be that as it may, had we beaten Houston and played Auburn and Clemson to the exact same scores the climate around the program would be a lot different right now. As it stands the climate is cloudy with a chance of natural disaster.   

I’m not going to harp on how bad the offensive line has been because it’s apparent to anyone who’s watched Louisville football this year.  So let’s talk about the outlook for that unit.  An offensive line is its own distinct cog in the offensive machine.  You can think of those five guys as being like a basketball team.  To be a decent unit you have to have a nice mixture of talent, experience, and familiarity with one another.  Right now our offensive line is short on all three.  The talent is what it is for the rest of this year, but I fully expect the line play to get better as they get more reps, gel, and learn to work together.  How much better they can be is anybody’s guess at this point; but, in my mind, Bobby walked into the offensive line film session last Friday like...

Which brings me to the most important position on the field, Quarterback.  At this point I would love to see Bobby give Lamar Jackson the keys to the car and live with whatever happens.  I know Louisville is not mathematically out of the ACC race, but the truth of the matter is that this team has a lot more issues than anyone thought heading into the year.  Also, losing at home to Clemson pegs their chances at winning the Atlantic at slim-to-none.  With that as the reality we now face, I’d love to see Lamar Jackson in the role to see the full breadth of his potential.  

Sticking to the offensive side of the ball, I really like what we’ve seen from the young talent at the skill positions.  Our running backs are up to the task and I expect their production to increase as the offensive line makes improvements.  This is crucial because one of the biggest issues on offense has been avoiding 3rd and long situations against  defenses that know we are throwing the ball.   The young wide receivers like Traveon Samuel and Devonte Peete have shown that they can contribute and make plays, but these guys are still young.  You can see that youth with things like dropped passes or running the wrong routes.  Fortunately that group could be on the verge of getting an upgrade.  During his weekly ACC coach's call Petrino indicated that Quick would see some action this week.

On the other side of the ball our defense hasn’t been that bad. There have been missed tackles and miscommunication issues, but they haven’t given up more than 27 points in any game this year. They also held the Clemson and Auburn offenses under 25 points, which was more than good enough to win both of those games.  On top of those points I would tell you that the defense has spent a lot of time on the field because of turnovers and three and outs from the offense.  I think the defense will continue to improve and can be a lot better if the offense can start putting drives together to get them some rest.

We’re not going to learn a lot about the team this Saturday, but you will certainly be able to tell a few things.  Personally, I’ll be watching the offensive line very closely to see how well they pick up blitzes and communicate in those situations.  You don’t have to be a great athlete to get to the QB when you come through the line unblocked, and that has been an issue in all three games this season.  I’d also like to see some fresh faces up front, perhaps a few of the Junior College transfers who haven’t played yet.  You brought them in and gave them scholarships for a reason, let’s see what they can do, because the group that’s been out there through three games ain’t gettin it done.  

There are nine games left on the schedule, and Samford is the only “gimmie” among them.  We have road games at NC State and Florida State where we will undoubtedly be heavy underdogs.  I watched the Boston College defense hold Florida State to seven offensive points last Friday night, and the FSU offensive line is a lot better than ours.  Wake Forest and Syracuse are games this team “should” win.  Virginia beat us last year and they haven’t looked atrocious.  Going on the road to Pittsburgh won’t be an easy task even with star running back James Conner out for the year.  

Then we close the season in Lexington.  We will know a lot more about the outlook for this team in two weeks after they travel to NC State.  If we win that game I can see us sitting at 7-4 heading into the Governor’s cup.  If we lose that game I can easily see us needing a win in the final game just to make it to or above .500 so we can make bowl game.  If you’re the high-strung type I’d advise you to enjoy the Samford game this weekend, because you might need a double dose of valium before the rest of the games on the schedule.  Come to think of it, that could be a good thing, right?

By: Ambrose O'Bryan
Date: 09/18/2015

Last night I sat in my seat at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and, apparently, had as many answers as our coaching staff for what I saw happening.  The offense managed only 10 points. The offensive line opened running lanes to the tune of 19 total yards. That’s not a typo, 19 yards. Once again our QB was a sitting duck for most of the night while being sacked five times.  Bolin had ginormous menacing defenders in his face on seemingly every play, which is a shame, because he's shown  that he is capable of making throws when he has time to read the defense and let a play develop.
     
The narrative of the night unfolded on the first drive when he faked one way and got creamed before he could even get his head around to scan the field. On another play late in the game Bobby kept a RB and a TE in to pass protect and Bolin still had three defenders get to him almost instantly. Clock management and use of timeouts were an issue for Petrino and his offense, again.  Maybe he should hook a sidecar up to his Harley and go for a long ride with offensive line coach Chris Klenakis to clear their heads. Because what they’re doing right now just isn’t working.  Poor Kyle, he was a good man.

By: Ambrose "Abe" O'Bryan
09/14/2015

     Thursday night inside of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium is gut check time for the University of Louisville, there’s no way around it, and anyone who tells you otherwise is an unabashed homer.  You lose to Clemson and suddenly you’re 0-3 with Samford at home followed by road games at North Carolina State and Florida State.  That’s a recipe for a  possible 1-5 start if I’ve ever seen one.  If they want to avoid a gigantic step back for this program it’s time for the players and the coaches to get their minds right.  The stat of the season so far is this: In opening possessions of each half so far (Louisville with 4, Auburn and Houston each with 2) Louisville has been outscored 21-3. They were out-gained 223yds to 91yds, and they committed 2 turnovers. That’s ugly, especially for a Coach known for having an opening script of plays sure to amaze. 

    
     Which brings me to the task at hand, Clemson.  The 11th ranked Tigers will come to town 2-0  without having been truly tested in either game thus far. The Clemson defense came into the season with some question marks, mostly because they had to replace their entire front seven from last year.  I don’t think it’s fair to say those questions were answered against Wafford or Appalachian State.  In fact, the Tiger defense has produced just two sacks against sub-par competition.  I’d like to tell you they're going to see a different level of athlete when they put their hands in the dirt on Thursday night, but I can’t.  Am I saying Appalachian state has better athletes on the offensive line than Louisville? No, I’m not. What I’m saying is that Louisville’s offensive linemen were definitely not on a different level than the Houston defensive linemen. So, I suppose I’d have to leave the rest of that equation to your imaginations, but I’m not going to say they’re a cut above anyone until I see it. 

Sophomore QB Deshaun Watson will lead the offense for Clemson, and guys, he good.  Watson has completed 77% of his passes this year for 5 touchdowns and 1 pick.  Watson is an exceptional athlete who has the ability to keep plays alive and pick up first downs when forced out of the pocket, but he'd rather beat you with his more than capable arm.  If there’s a positive to glean from his stats through two games it’s that he was sacked three times last week against Appalachian State. 
     
      The flip side to that coin is that Louisville has not been able to produce much of a pass rush over the first two games in totaling just two sacks.  Both of those came against Houston from Keith Kelsey who was an absolute maniac on Saturday.  Kelsey racked up 15 tackles, 10 of them solo and 4 for a loss. Kelsey aside, two sacks over two games from a front seven that was billed to be one of the best in the country isn’t gonna get it done. For Louisville to have a chance to win they’re going to have to harass Watson, make him uncomfortable, and hopefully force him into some mistakes because he is the straw that stirs the drink for that offense. 

       If you spend any amount of time listening to local sports talk, or following Louisville fans on Twitter, you know that most fans think Louisville’s struggles are a QB problem.  I’ll admit that it’s never a good thing when you’ve played three QBs in two games; but, I’m going to tell you a secret. Come a closer. A little closer......   NO ONE, especially @CardsFanBoy4Ever06 or “Big Mike in Fern Creek” could possibly know how good our QBs can be without seeing them with decent protection and a running game.  Yes, that’s right, despite rumors to the contrary even good QBs struggle when they have defenders in their faces before their plant foot hits the ground.  They also struggle when safeties don’t have to worry about helping in run support. Crazy, I know, but it’s true. 

      I hate the term “must win game.”  So I’m not going to say that’s what we’re looking at; but, Thursday night is gut check time for the players, the coaches, and the program.  It’s a home game against one of the two division foes you will eventually have to beat if you’re going to contend for the Atlantic.  I’m not going to sit here and wax poetic about why we can win this game.  I’m not going to give you the “let slip the dogs of war” speech. This isn’t that sort of game.  This is a shut up AND put up sort of game.  You fought like mad to get into a Big Boy league and now you’re there.  At this point talk is cheap, and there’s nothing left to do but get the job done.

The Bird Cage
The Dynasty Intro: Lamar Jackson
By: Ambrose “Abe” O’Bryan
9/12/2015
Video Edit by Dave Lackford

       The Louisville Cardinals return to Floyd Street this afternoon for their 2015 home opener fresh off the heels of a valiant effort against #6 Auburn in Atlanta.  The Cards will face an old familiar foe from stints in other leagues when the Houston Cougars take the field at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.  Louisville will not only open a new season in front of the home crowd, they will also open a new chapter in Cardinal lore when true freshman Lamar Jackson gets his first start.